Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
President Bola Tinubu has ordered an immediate high-stakes diplomatic intervention to secure the release and repatriation of nearly 300 Nigerian citizens languishing in Ethiopian prisons, following alarming reports of inmate deaths due to deteriorating conditions. A high-level delegation, including the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Attorney-General of the Federation, was dispatched on Tuesday, June 9, 2026, to Addis Ababa, as many of the affected individuals, held at the maximum-security Kaliti Prison, were sentenced for non-violent drug-related offenses.
The urgency of the directive from President Tinubu was driven by a series of preventable tragedies that have occurred over recent years. Official records from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirm that more than 270 Nigerians are currently serving prison sentences in Ethiopia, the vast majority of them held at Kaliti Prison, a facility where advocacy groups have documented severe overcrowding, starvation, and a lack of medical care. A source within the presidency told The PUNCH that the physical condition of the inmates has become critical, stating bluntly, “They are dying.”
The crisis has been escalating since at least March 2023, when Nigerian inmate Chizoba Favour Eze died following alleged brutalisation by prison officials. His death was followed by that of Uchenna Nwanneneme, who succumbed to tuberculosis in September 2023 after receiving little or no medical attention. Another inmate, Basil Lawrence Ilobi, also died in custody, prompting formal protests from Nigeria’s diplomatic mission in Addis Ababa. The deaths of these men galvanized public pressure, culminating in a landmark court ruling.
In November 2024, Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court in Abuja issued a binding order of mandamus compelling the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM) to facilitate the return of the imprisoned Nigerians. The court’s decision was based on an admission from the Ethiopian government that it lacked the budget to care for foreign nationals in its custody. Despite this, the order failed to yield immediate results, and the bureaucratic process continued to stall.
Subsequent efforts to break the deadlock intensified over the following 18 months. In a significant policy shift in April 2025, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, who was then Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, led a delegation to meet with Ethiopia’s Ambassador to Nigeria, Legesse Geremew Haile, pressing for the immediate ratification of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons. During that meeting, she declared with palpable frustration, “Our people don’t want to hear that another Nigerian inmate died in an Ethiopian prison.” She further revealed that Nigeria had already completed all its internal formalities for the MoU, adding the damning assessment that it was “the Ethiopian side that is stalling.” Ambassador Haile responded by acknowledging that the agreement was still awaiting ratification by Ethiopia’s House of People’s Representatives, even as he reaffirmed the importance of diplomatic ties.
In a further blow, in January 2026, the Ethiopian legislature ratified similar prisoner transfer agreements with China and Brazil, as well as an extradition agreement with South Africa. However, the pact with Nigeria remained unsigned, leaving the fate of the 300 citizens in legal limbo and further emboldening advocacy groups to demand presidential-level intervention. Relatives of the inmates had previously sent a desperate SOS appeal to the Tinubu government in September 2025, begging for the activation of the stalled transfer arrangement.
The high-level delegation now tasked with ending the crisis is led by Foreign Affairs Minister Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, who is intimately familiar with the portfolio, and Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi. The mission is singular: to finally secure an agreement that will allow the convicted individuals to transfer home to serve the remainder of their sentences in Nigerian correctional facilities.
The case of the imprisoned Nigerians highlights the perilous path many young West Africans have taken in recent years. A significant number of those detained in Ethiopia were arrested while transiting through Bole International Airport, one of Africa’s busiest hubs, on their way to Europe or the Gulf states. While the Nigerian mission says the majority were convicted on drug trafficking charges—a scourge that remains a major concern for the Federal Government—advocacy groups continue to argue that some of the suspects were unwitting carriers, unaware that illicit substances had been concealed in their luggage.
The planned transfer, should the MoU be signed, will not represent a pardon or a free release. Rather, it is a humanitarian measure to ensure that Nigerian citizens serve out their lawful sentences in an environment where they can receive family visits and maintain basic human dignity. The unfolding saga in Addis Ababa—a mix of diplomatic wrangling, judicial oversight, and presidential urgency—now moves to its final chapter. After years of lobbying, legal battles, and quiet pleas, the Nigerian government has finally spoken, and the delegation is on the tarmac.
📩 Stone Reporters News | 🌍 stonereportersnews.com ✉️ info@stonereportersnews.com | 📘 Facebook: Stone Reporters News | 🐦 X (Twitter): @StoneReportNew | 📸 Instagram: @stonereportersnews
Add comment
Comments